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I checked out the new Thinkfree website and their office suite, it’s awesome. Read my post about the Thinkfree suite. Thinkfree offers an offline version of the suite that will sync with the online version. This is pretty sweet and it works in Ubuntu. Below is the instruction. Pretty easy.

Install Thinkfree Office Suite

Download the office suite at this page. Make sure you donwload the linux version, it would be a .sh file.

I hate RealPlayer because I don’t often have media files in .real format but when I do want to open one, it’s just a pain to install an entirely new player. Window media classic does not work in Ubuntu, so I decided to visit RealPlayer site for a try (after an internal fight and put my pride aside). After clicking Donwload Player on the main page, it let me download a version of linux. How lovely, I did not expect them to make one for linux. Who would have thought Real.com is so caring. The file is in .bin format.

By default, RealPlayer is installed at /opt/real/RealPlayer. However, if you changed it and forget where you installed the file, use Deskbar Applet to find RealPlayer folder. Or you can use whereis and locate command as well. I am assuming you chose the default location.

Note: Go to Applications -> Sound and Video to see if RealPlayer is already there. You may not need to follow the instruction below. If RealPlayer is in the Sound and Video folder, right-click on it and select either add this launcher to panel or add this launcher to desktop.

Right-click on the Desktop and select Create a Launcher.

Fill in the dialogue exactly like the picture below. Pay close attention to the Command line. You can also navigate to the “realplay” file by clicking Browse.

The Icon is automatically added (not sure how, but it’s so sweet!). Click close and you have the shortcut. Double click on it to open RealPlayer.

Sometimes you need to make several different file types excutable to install applications. Those file types include .sh and .bin. I had seperate tutorials on how to deal with .bin and .sh files type. There are two ways to make a file executable: using terminal or using graphical interface.

I was just trying out Thinkfree office suit online and it requires me install Java update. I downloaded the update file but it was in .bin format and I had no idea what to do with it. As usual, there was not any instruction on how to install stuff in Ubuntu. After screwing around a bit, I found the solution on Youtube.

Execute .bin files

Navigate to where you save your file. Make sure you save your file where you want to install the application.

Execute the file

sudo ./yourfile.bin

Replace the name of the .bin file into “yourfile.” Make sure you type everything in correctly, including the file name, the period and lash before the file.

Enter your password and the file will be executed.

Have fun!

Note: I accidentally install my Java folder onto the Desktop. However, since Java does not require me to put it anywhere specific I can leave it on the desktop. I chose to move it to the lib folder though.

sudo mv ~/Desktop/jre1.5.0_12 /lib

Or you can open Nautilus as root to have root permission to move the folder with your mouse.

Below is a tutorial based on Claudio’s tutorial, but I cut out the unnecessary stuff and add a section on how to assign user to group visually (for newbies and ultra-beginner like me).

Install VirtualBox in Ubuntu

Download the .deb file here. Choose your appropriate OS and download. This is the binaries version and also a deb file so it would be very easy to install.
Note: Do not use Synaptic to install OSE package. It did not work for me. The x86 version is for intel, and amd64 is for AMD chips.

Double click on the .deb package to install. There will be several announcement makes during installation, but don’t worry, we will take care of it.

We need to add users into vboxusers in order to use VirtualBox. Follow the instructions below. We can do it graphically.

Assigning Users to Group – Graphic

System -> Administration -> Users and Groups

Select Unlock.

Enter your Password and click Authenticate.

Select Manage Groups.

Double click on vboxusers group or select it and click Properties to edit group.

Check the members you would like to add to the group, make sure you are one of them.

OK and close. You have added users into group.

You are now able to use VirtualBox. Below is a good youtube tutorial, check it out if you like.

Last night, I was listening to Loaded on Cnet. Google Desktop is now working on linux. Google Gadgets is now working on Linux while Google Desktop has been on Linux for years. Google Desktop has never been my favorite gadget, but I still want to check it out. The installation process is super easy, there aren’t much to put here. But below is the tutorial anyway.There is a new tutorial on how to uninstall Google Desktop and I added that new section below too.

And if you log out and log back in, the Google Desktop option will be right in your Applications.

Have fun, you must download the gadgets separately. Google Desktop only allow search index. I will post a tutorial on how to install Google Gadget; the steps are more troublesome than I expected.

Update: installing Google Gadgets is a pain in the a**. After 9 hours of trying, I finally gave up. For those of you who wanted to try, visit this page for an easy compilation or this page for detail installation. This is still in beta and there are numerous bugs, so it’s not for the faint of heart (is that even a right phrase in American English? oh well.)

Preferences

To access preferences, right click on the Google Desktop Icon. Your browser will open up to the Preferences page.

Problem: I just encountered a problem while trying to access Google Desktop Preferences. The Preferences windows will not appear. So to edit preferences for google desktop, you are going to do it manually with your web browser.